Harsh sunlight glint off the sleek metal of the PACRAT as Cable set it down just outside of a large forest. X-Force looked toward Cable, all business.
Their time-displaced leader surveyed his troops, his eyes glowing slightly. His lips pulled into a sharp smile, the curled back into a battle snarl.
"This is the way it's going to work. Siryn, you take Rictor, Shatterstar, and Warpath, and go around, punch through the forest. Cannonball, you and Boomer take the point. Domino and I will be on both sides…we'll squeeze them out." Cable ordered.
"Yes sir."
"Aye, I understand."
"No problem, boss man."
Tabitha grinned at Sam, and bounded for the door, jumping to the ground. She took off running toward the forest, before Sam even had time to get out of the PACRAT.
"Tabitha, wait a minute! Don't just charge in!" Sam yelled at her, blasting off.
"Oh, lighten up, Guthrie! We could take these bozos with one hand tied behind our backs!" Tabitha was less then worried about the potential danger the 'bozos' held.
The small blonde threw her hair back over her shoulder, and giggled madly. She got such an adrenaline rush out of her life style!
Cannonball silently cursed and blasted off after the girl, worry etched on his features. He soon lost sight of her amongst the thickly growing trees and was forced to land, growling in annoyance.
"Doesn't that girl ever THINK?" Sam muttered out loud, his trained eyes scanning for any sign of his erstwhile teammate.
A flash of hot pink between trees caught his eye, and the young mutant took off running. But before he could reach the young woman, a scream echoed through his ears.
"TABITHA?!" Sam hollered back, forcing himself forward faster. He reached the area where he had seen the flash of hot pink, his eyes widened in horror.
Tabitha was suspended four feet in the air by a man with tentacles instead of arms. He was leering at her, the tip of his right tentacle wrapped around her breast. She was trembling violently, tears trickling down her face.
Sam restrained a scream of rage, and leapt forward, grabbing at the tentacle man. The villain was so interested in Tabitha, that he didn't notice Sam until the southern man knocked him to the ground.
Tabitha dropped to the ground, her ankle getting caught underneath the rest of her body. She screamed in pain, and dropped to the ground completely, lying on her side, gasping in pain.
The tentacle man tossed Sam into a tree, and advanced on the blonde, who screamed. She silently cursed herself for acting like the stereotypical damsel in distress. To rectify the situation, she kicked out with her good foot, but yelped again when a green tentacle was wrapped around it.
The villain dragged her forward; his face once more contorted in the lecherous leer it had been before Cannonball had arrived.
The man, in his haste to get to the more…fun part of his job, had over looked that fact that Sam was not completely knocked out, merely stunned. And that didn't last long when he saw Tabitha being dragged toward the laughing man.
"Let her go!" He growled, forcing himself up to his feet, and staggering toward the man. The tentacle man turned, and was rewarded with a face full of concessive force.
Tabitha yanked herself away from the tentacled man, and ran toward Sam, her short hair flying. Sam ran toward her, his face contorted into worry for the small blonde.
"Tabitha are you okay?!" He cried when he reached her side. He grasped her shoulders and studied her face. "Are you okay?"
The little blonde nodded her head, to shaken to speak. Sam pulled her into a tight hug, kissing the top of her head.
"Don't ever do that to me again!" Sam told her, clutching her even tighter, his eyes tearing slightly.
"I won't." Tabitha's voice was muffled in his chest.
A sudden sound, like water hitting a hot pan, filled the air. Sam looked up over Tabitha head to see the tentacle man shoot some sort of beam out of his left tentacle, aimed directly at Tabitha's back.
Sam didn't think. He reacted.
He whirled the young woman around, so that she was behind him, taking the full brunt of the blow. He gasped and fell forward, into the young woman's arms.
"Sam?! Sam!?" Tabitha screamed, just as the rest of the team burst into the clearing. The tentacled man didn't stand a chance against the combined X-Force, even without Cannonball and Boomer.
Tabitha was cradling the still southerner in her arms, her eyes wide and shocked. He was still breathing, but just barely.
"Tabitha what---happened!?" Terry asked, running up to where Sam and Tabitha were.
The tiny girl looked up at her friends, her eyes shocked and agonized. "H-he was tryin' to save me…I let that guy get a hold o' me, and Sam w-was tryin' to save me…I'm sorry Sam, so sorry…"